Dead Violets is a noise behemoth, a drone core juggernaught, an ominous transatlantic stormcloud, a black as bile, three headed beast. Dead Violets is Jeffrey Surak (Violet, Critikal, et cetera), Bethany Moore and Thomas Ekelund (Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words, Teeth, et cetera).
Audio
Organ 3 - from Organ Grinder EP Download »
Varför skriver Pär Thörn? - from Har Du Hört Den Förut? 29 Svenska Artister Tolkar Förmögenhet Download »
Untitled - from forthcoming audio cassette St. Vitus Dance Download »
Photos
Contact
comm {at} deadviolets {dot} comAbout Violet
J. Surak (aka Violet) is a veteran experimenter from Washington, DC. Since the early 1980s, he has explored the netherworld between improvisation and composition to create something between the two auditory realms of experimental music.
Since his early recordings under the name -1348-, Surak established himself in the international hometaper underground network of the 1980s, releasing tapes on the his own Watergate Tapes imprint, along with such artists as Controlled Bleeding, F/i, and Kapotte Muziek; and collaborating with such icons as Zan Hoffman, Crawling with Tarts, and John Hudak. At the same time Surak performed with the notorious DC area industrial band New Carrollton.
The 1990s found Surak living and performing in Russia. There he formed the group Sovmestnoye Predpriyatiye which created site specific works using found materials and sounds.
At the turn of the millenium Surak created a new duo, V. which quickly blew out of the its initial framework of free improv into a unit that pushed the limits of composition, constantly reinventing itself with each recording and performance. After 11 albums in 2 years, the duo disbanded, leaving Surak to further continue explorations under his solo project called Violet. Found objects, microcassettes, damaged cds, prepared acoustic instruments, and old record players outfitted with foil are the tools of choice. Violet has collaborating with Alexei Borisov, Frans De Waard, Betrand Denzler, Michael Gendreau, Andrey Kiritchenko, Kotra, Francisco Lopez, Andreas Tilliander and many others. Since 2002 Violet has released numerous recordings in a variety of formats and has performed across the USA and Europe.
www.zeromoon.com/violet
www.myspace.com/microk7
About Bethany Moore
Bethany Moore, also known as 'B' or 'Aradia', has been writing poetry, stories, and songs since early childhood. A practicing wiccan for many years, B enjoys using her voice and words to convey her observations and experiences. Much of her work explores issues of human despair, spiritual journeying, and emotional analysis.
About Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words
Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words is the specter that haunts Thomas Ekelund. But it is a ghost by which Ekelund performs sonic exorcism, unleashing his bleak and twisted vision into the material world. Culling found sounds from his habitat, twisting in inspiration from 60's girl groups, and molding it together with the last gasps of vinyl noise, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words gives birth to what one might name concrete drone pop.
While it might not be »musical«, the sound is emotionally charged. From bleak to bleaker, grimy sounds emanate from the sewer, while rays of hope sneak through the broken glass, reflecting on the blood stained shards on the street above.
Ekelund (b. 1977) is a graphic designer, musician and visual artist. He has released music under a long line of guises both solo and in constellations such as The Skull Defekts, Dead Violets, Normal Music, Teeth, Kill Kill Kill For Inner Peace and Dub Industrial Sound System.
Ekelund currently resides in Gothenburg, Sweden.